Various types of drilling systems including rotary drill bits, reamers, stabilizers and other downhole drilling tools may be used to form a borehole in the earth. Such wellbores are often formed using a rotary drill bit attached to the end of a generally hollow, tubular drill string extending from a well head. Rotation of a rotary drill bit progressively cuts away adjacent portions of a downhole formation using cutting elements and cutting structures disposed on exterior portions of the rotary drill bit. Examples of such rotary drill bits include, but are not limited to, fixed cutter drill bits, drag bits, PDC drill bits, matrix drill bits, roller cone drill bits, rotary cone drill bits and rock bits used in drilling oil and gas wells. Cutting action associated with such drill bits generally uses weight on bit (WOB) and rotation of associated cutting elements into adjacent portions of a downhole formation to push the bit into the formation to cause cutting and drilling. Drilling fluid may also be provided to perform several functions including washing away formation materials and other downhole debris from the bottom of a wellbore, cleaning associated cutting elements and cutting structures and carrying formation cuttings and other downhole debris upward to an associated well surface.
As drilling tools cut into a geological formation, the drilling tools may experience wear and lose efficacy. The amount of wear experienced by a drilling tool may be related to, among other things, the type of formation into which the drilling tool is cutting. For example, the harder the formation, the faster the drilling tool may wear. The increased wear may also cause undue strain on the drill string.